Why four Florida senators are pushing for reunification in a child-custody case

Four state senators have become involved in a Panhandle woman’s two-year-long child custody dispute, pressuring the state to reunite her with her daughter and even representing the mother in court.

The lawmakers, led by Pensacola Republican Sen. Don Gaetz, are championing the case of Joy Zuraff, one of Gaetz’s constituents.

Zuraff’s case has become the latest flashpoint in Florida’s debate over medical freedom, as video footage of state workers visiting her house in 2024 circulates online. Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration and Zuraff’s brother and her mother have defended the decision to remove the child from her home.

Florida took custody of Zuraff’s daughter Kenlee after state child protective service workers determined she was ignoring a doctor’s advice on how to treat the girl’s cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and other organs.

Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Miami independent and lawyer, is representing the woman for free at her custody trial in April. Gaetz said that Republican Sens. Erin Grall of Vero Beach and Jennifer Bradley of Fleming Island have also taken an interest in the case.

“I don’t know the details of what’s going on in court,” Gaetz said. “But I do know that very little has been done for two years, and a lot needs to be done soon.”

The pressure from lawmakers comes as Department of Children and Families Secretary Taylor Hatch tries for the second year to get the Florida Senate’s confirmation. Hatch is up Monday for a confirmation hearing in Gaetz’s committee — which Grall and Bradley also sit on.

Hatch had an earlier confirmation hearing scheduled for last Monday, but Gaetz delayed it. He said the postponement was due to a time issue.

Gaetz said Hatch’s confirmation should be considered “solely on the basis of her qualifications” and not the Zuraff case — which he said won’t be resolved before Hatch is either confirmed or not.

But senators could bring up the case during questions, or ask generally about the department’s protocol with family reunification.

Regardless of how the confirmation plays out, Gaetz said he plans to keep talking with the Department of Children and Families and encouraging reunification. He said the agency has not made any serious attempt to bring the family together, despite the law calling for family ties to be kept whenever possible.

“I plan to increase my interest in the case, and increase the number of calls I make, meetings that I have with the secretary, until we can see some sort of a plan,” Gaetz said.

In 2024, state case workers from the Department of Children and Families took custody of 5-year-old Kenlee Zuraff from her mother. She is still in state custody. Gaetz said Kenlee is in Jacksonville, around six hours away from her mother.

Zuraff’s brother, Justin Zuraff, and her mother, Dianne Swenby, said lawmakers and members of the public are making assumptions about the case without knowing the full circumstances.

Justin Zuraff, who lives in South Dakota, said he worries about his niece’s health and wants her to be safe above all else.

“When Kenlee goes back, are they (the lawmakers) going to take any sense of responsibility?” he said. “Are they going to look at Kenlee and make sure she’s getting the proper care she needs?”

“I doubt it,” he said.

Swenby, Zuraff’s mother, said she would want her daughter to raise her grandchild, but said she’s not fit to do so at this point in her life.

Swenby said while advocates for parental rights have seized on the case, she’s for the rights of her granddaughter.

The Herald/Times was unable to reach Joy Zuraff for comment. One of her attorneys declined comment.

Details in the case are limited because of the highly confidential nature of child custody cases. But body camera footage of case workers removing Zuraff’s daughter from the family’s Santa Rosa County home shows the case workers accusing her of refusing medical treatment for her daughter and leaving her lungs in poor condition.

“You have been told repeatedly by doctors that she’s going to be needing a lung transplant at a young age because of your refusal to give her medication to address her CF (cystic fibrosis),” one state worker says.

In the footage, Zuraff pushes back, saying she wasn’t denying treatment and wasn’t trying to treat her daughter the “natural way” despite the state’s assertion. She said she was asking her daughter’s old doctor for a second opinion.

“You’re gonna take my little girl someplace she doesn’t know because of one medication?” Zuraff says.

Cystic fibrosis symptoms and their severity vary, according to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. To manage the disorder, people with cystic fibrosis can do a variety of daily therapies with the goal of loosening mucus from the lungs, preventing infection and treating intestinal blockages.

Gaetz, who connected with Zuraff about a year ago, said that he’s “beginning to detect an interest” from the department in trying to reunify the family.

“I believe their interest, unfortunately, is only provoked by the fact that four members of the Senate are interested,” Gaetz said.

“And that’s in a way sad, because there are a lot of people who don’t know their senator,” Gaetz said.

A spokesperson from the department did not respond to requests for comment.

When footage circulated last month, the department issued a statement saying it could “state unequivocally that the child is now safe and no longer in imminent danger.”

“It is also important to note that a short video clip does not capture the full scope or context of the situation,” the department said.

Alex Lanfranconi, DeSantis’ communications director, also rebutted public outcry over the footage last month. In a social media post, he said, “The facts in this case do not support the accusations being made.”

“Florida strongly supports parental choice and medical freedom, but we also have a duty to look after children who have been neglected or are facing severe health challenges as a result of their guardianship,” Lanfranconi said. “We are confident the public will agree with our actions once we are in a position to release additional info.”

At an earlier February confirmation hearing for Hatch, Grall voted not to recommend her confirmation but didn’t elaborate.

When asked about the case, Grall declined to comment. Bradley also declined to comment but confirmed she cares about it.

This is Hatch’s second year seeking the Senate’s confirmation after being appointed to her post by DeSantis. Her confirmation was held up last year amid questions about how a charity tied to the Hope Florida program, which was largely housed in Hatch’s agency, handled a $10 million Medicaid settlement.

Hatch has also faced criticism from some child welfare advocates, who say the Department of Children and Families has been too hasty to remove medically vulnerable children from their parents and to cut off parental rights.

A bipartisan group of Florida lawmakers is backing a bill that would offer more discretion in child abuse investigations when the child has a medical condition that is often misdiagnosed as abuse, like rickets, a condition that causes a child’s bones to weaken.

Sen. Barbara Sharief, D-Davie, is sponsoring the legislation in the Senate.

At a committee meeting this session, Sharief asked Hatch about how the department has handled child protective investigations and urged her to provide parents with more information about their rights up front. Sharief ultimately voted yes on Hatch’s confirmation.

Kierra Buchanan and her husband, Darryl Buchanan, visited Tallahassee last week for Hatch’s earlier scheduled hearing and have been reaching out to senators after their child was taken from them over injuries they say he incurred from birth complications and underlying genetic conditions.

The Buchanans say they have faced more than 450 days without their son, Darryl III, whom they call “D3.” His birth was complicated, Kierra said, and the medical team had to use vacuum assistance.

Kierra Buchanan said that once medical investigators deemed his injuries were abuse, the state hasn’t been willing to consider anything else, despite the family getting second opinions from other doctors.

“I don’t want to wish nothing bad on anybody,” Buchanan said. “I just want (Hatch) to do the right thing and, you know, take a look at cases like ours and realize, OK, we dropped the ball with these.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 2:55 PM.